February 22, 2008

Jazz bassist Cleveland “Cleve” Eaton was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. A native of Fairfield, Eaton began studying music at the age of 5 and became a consummate bassist, producer, composer, publisher, arranger and the founder of a Birmingham-based record company. As a recording artist, he is best known for his performances with jazz bands led by Larry Novak, Ramsey Lewis and Count Basie. Eaton’s version of “Bama Boogie Woogie” became an international best seller, and his 1975 album “Plenty Good Eaton” is considered a classic in the funk music genre. Eaton was also inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and received the Alabama’s Governor’s Arts Award in 1995.

Read more at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Cleve Eaton, rehearsing with Lew Soloff and the Ray Reach Quartet, for a performance at the Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz festival in Birmingham, 2008. (Allenstone, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.